So therefore, the French should be dispossessed of their wealth in all its many manifestations.

That’s globalism.

And, sadly, that’s socialism.

Make everybody the same.

Take by force.

Redistribute.

Doesn’t sound very civilized to me…

Rather, sounds fairly barbarian.

A shortcut on hard work.

But I’m really aiming to get under your thumb (er, skin) as regards “race”.

I put it in skeptical quotations because modern genetics has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the concept of “race” is ridiculous.

As Geoffrey Carr of The Economist puts it, “One group of 55 chimps in West Africa shows more genetic diversity than the whole of humanity.”

I usually don’t trust The Economist farther than I can throw it.

Because there are no bylines.

And it is a clearly globalist rag.

But Mr. Carr has a point.

To put words in his mouth…if there are no races, then there must be no racism.

I’m sure some other word will suffice.

Phenotype.

I’ll get back to you once I wade through Euclid’s Elements.

But I hope my point is clear.

If races don’t exist (a notion the globalists are pushing very hard…for ulterior motives), then racism is an absurd concept.

But still, SOMETHING exists.

Perhaps it’s just a “rose” by another name.

Which brings us to this film.

Three Amigos. It’s racist, right?

I mean, the Mexicans in this film aren’t doctors and lawyers.

They don’t speak flawless English with no hint of accent.

And though they run a small gamut, there are indeed stereotypes at work.

But is it mean-spirited?

I would argue it is not.

Or else, the Pink Panther films should all be banned out of deference to the French.

Which is no less absurd than saying John Landis’ masterpiece under review is “racist”.

But let me bring a different slant (no pun intended) to this dialogue.

In my area, south Texas, a mixing of “races” is apparent.

There are white people. And a few black people. But mostly there are brown people.

And then there are gradations.

So-and-so is darker than what’s-his-name. And so on and so forth.

And we know that this darkness in skin pigmentation (for Mexican-Americans) comes largely from the Native Americans who populated what is today the U.S. and Mexico.

Before the Europeans arrived.

But here’s my personal two bits.

This film, Three Amigos, was cherished by me and all my school chums when we were growing up.

People with last names like Lopez, De Los Santos, etc.

We were all friends.

And though we may have fallen out of touch with one another, we all seemed to find enjoyment in Three Amigos.

Indeed, my Hispanic (Latino) friends apparently found the characterizations of Mexicans the funniest.

And, dare I say it, because (as the adage goes), “It’s–so–true!!!”

Whether any characterization of Mexicans in this film is or isn’t true…that’s immaterial.

For me.

I am not the ultimate judge.

But things have changed.

And it’s not just the Trump effect.

Over the years, people have become more and more “polite”.

That’s a good thing, right?

Well, I’m not so sure…

Because it’s not a genuine politeness.

It’s a politesse which is enforced topdown.

It’s not really a choice.

And, to make dead clear, it is our old nemesis: social engineering.

It is in this sense that social engineering is truly defined.

Any other definition (the activities of a pickpocket, a conman, a hacker) is insufficient and misleading.

Social engineering is, by-and-large, practiced at the highest levels of government, at policy institutions, and in commerce by Ivy League jerks (both male and female) who wish to mold society into a shape pleasing unto them.

And like those pernicious Fabians of old, they have no qualms about smashing the world to bits if such means lead to their desired end.

The Fabians, of course, never rush anything. Unless they panic. At which time they reveal themselves. To be the losers they are.

Yes, I am no fan of the Fabian socialists.

Because their whole programme is predicated on deception and secrecy.

And, as such, it should be thoroughly suspect whenever encountered.

But this is a comedy, right?

Yes! Amen!! Something we can agree on!!!

[perhaps]

This grand apologia is to introduce one of my favorite films.

Three Amigos.

It is not “politically correct”, but then NOTHING was in 1986.

And with “correctness” we have lost our sense of humor.

We are too easily offended.

We need “safe spaces”.

Ok, ok…I promise I’m not about to get all Bill O’Reilly here.

Because I have railed AGAINST Fox News for many years.

And, dare I say it, the real heroes in the USA were those who took CHANCES…BIG FUCKING CHANCES…to preserve liberty.

Trump came to the party late.

And I came to Trump even later.

But the real heroes are people like Alex Jones.

Indeed, there is no one like him.

But with the “Joneses” came others like Steve Pieczenik.

And so the tables have turned against the globalists.

Thank God for BREXIT!

Thank God for Trump!

And may God bless Marine Le Pen!

Because the neoliberal nightmare in which we are now mired (including the neoconservative, never-ending wars) has set the globalist agenda back decades.

The European Union is falling apart.

And rightly so.

Because it was a bad idea in the first place.

France must get rid of the atrocious Loi Gayssot.

And other European countries must follow suit.

We must be allowed to TALK!

The Internet will not allow tyranny.

Every government which seeks to control will find itself obsolete.

And so call it whatever you want.

If you’re “free market”, then the Internet is the genius of capitalism.

If you’re fond of sharing (so am I), then the Internet is the redistributive genius of socialism.

And, finally, we have the monstrosity of China.

Clearly no longer a communist state.

Yet neither a capitalist free market.

The mutant which is China…that juggernaut has been smashing the world in terms of productivity.

But there is a limit.

Now the people want FREEDOM.

[or so we are told]

At any rate, the blowback of globalism will ensure that the Chinese people crave the OPPORTUNITY (at least) to behave like Westerners.

THAT much is human nature.

And so I am not against natural globalization.

In that respect, the Fabians are right.

If “gradualism” is taken to mean “let nature take its course”.

But I am and will forever remain AGAINST synthetic globalism.

Globalization vs. globalism.

Semantic.

Suffice to say, I am very much against FORCED globalization.

And perhaps Erdoğan is a manifestation of reaction.

“Reactionary”, as the socialists always say. The worst insult a leftie can level!

As such, I have nothing against Erdoğan, but he can’t hold on to power IN SPITE OF the people.

Same with Trump.

Trump barely squeaked out a victory.

Because the globalist machine is so strong in America.

But rural pride was stronger.

And the Electoral College defeated Hillary Clinton.

But Trump will have to produce.

He knows this.

The clock is ticking on his four years.

And he has had adversaries on all sides.

So it remains to be seen…whether he will make good on his campaign promises.

I am standing behind him.

I am supporting him.

But I am ready to call “bullshit” when the moment is ripe.

Hopefully that moment will never come.

Hopefully he will be a wonderful President.

Which brings us back to “race”.

The wall.

It’s not meant to be “a symbol”, it’s meant to be a wall.

And we in America have long known that the story of 9/11 is seriously flawed…like Swiss cheese…it is not plausible.

I often shoot my mouth off (my defining characteristic), but I have done my research on 9/11.

It may be the most complex event ever.

But it certainly was not the work of 19 blokes with boxcutters.

And everywhere…we saw the stand-down.

Two parts to Roberta Wohlstetter’s pet theory.

False-flag stand-down.

9/11 was no more Islamic than Mickey Mouse.

And so many signs proved this case.

If it had been an attack actually emanating from outside the United States (as opposed to an inside, CIA job), then our southern border would have been secured toot sweet.

But such was not the case.

And those of us near the southern border had all the information we needed to put the final nail in the coffin.

That 9/11 was a self-inflicted attack.

[with help from Israeli Mossad and others]

It was a team effort of the globalists.

However, to paraphrase Guy Debord, “deceit deceived itself”.

9/11 was the day when the Ivy League lost.

Once and for all.

Never again will Yale be the same.

Never again will Harvard be guiltless (if they ever were [and they weren’t]).

Brave people spoke out.

Webster Tarpley (of Princeton).

Steve Pieczenik (of Cornell and Harvard).

But now our Ivy League President (Penn) has a chance to reverse the sustained-lie–the 8-year-nightmare of Barack Obama’s unreality.

The Democratic Party squandered its chance to see the neocons swing from the gallows.

A film critic whose favorite actress is a young 35-year-old whipper snapper???

Yes.

That’s alright.

Laugh at me.

If the question was, “Who was your favorite classic Hollywood actress?,” then I would answer, “Lauren Bacall”.

But I said favorite actress of all time.

You can search my “Thora” category here on my site for why exactly this actress is my favorite.

Because otherwise, we’re going to be here all day.

And I have a movie to review!

One of my favorites: Homeless to Harvard.

It is, indeed …The Liz Murray Story, but I will be using the shortened title hereafter for brevity’s sake.

It is my contention (and I have made the point elsewhere…probably on this very site of mine) that Thora Birch produced a trilogy of acting performances which are more-or-less analogous to Bob Dylan’s classic trilogy.

Let’s start with Dylan.

The three (at unity from a similarity of intense expression):

–Bringing It All Back Home

–Highway 61 Revisited

and

–Blonde on Blonde

And now the Thora films which correspond in my mind:

–American Beauty

–Ghost World

and

–Homeless to Harvard

Sure…Birch didn’t direct these films.

But her acting is so strong, she might as well have.

By this point she was no longer a prodigy.

She was a mature actress. A master of her craft.

And the story here is one to really sink teeth in.

[In which.]

We recently touched on homelessness here in the review of Alicia Vikander’s stellar turn as Katarina from Till det som är vackert.

Keeping that in mind, let’s see exactly what the hero of the free world had to say today.

First, President Trump bemoaned the treatment of his cabinet selections.

Indeed, the Democratic Party in the United States has become the embarrassment they wish to project upon Donald Trump.

The Democratic Party has, it seems, absolutely no cogent strategy whatsoever at this point.

And so, indeed, the only real political chaos is within that camp.

To clarify…it’s not just a BAD strategy which the Democrats have adopted in an effort to keep their ragtag band of poseurs on political life-support, but rather A COMPLETE LACK OF STRATEGY which characterizes the sum of their pathetic tactics.

Yes, Mr. Trump: “the people get it”.

Indeed.

We rednecks. We of middle-America.

Many colors and creeds.

Yes, we fucking get it.

You are the man!

As a student of (and holder of an advanced degree in) business, I bloody well understand why the world of commerce is welcoming Trump.

It’s those trite words which are pounded into every MBA’s head.

Value creation.

Or.

Value.

Yeah…

There’s no Bernie-Sanders-ing our way out of the current quagmire.

AND…

Only a leader with tremendous cojones could even have a shot at successfully pulling off the rebuilding of America.

Because we have squandered our position in the world.

At the expense of truth, we have fallen down a muddy chute.

And the free-fall (while not apparent to all) has been going on for some time.

So we are, indeed, putting a great deal of faith in Mr. Trump to right the ship.

Really, we’re like the goddamned Titanic over here.

But business has to work.

There’s no willy-nilly socialism which is going to patch up our death-wound which is bleeding money.

No sir.

There’s no value creation in that.

Try it out.

War-game it.

It doesn’t work.

Which isn’t to say that rapacious monopoly capitalism is the answer.

But we are a capitalist country.

And China’s ascent has not been due to some new interpretation of Marx.

Fuck no!

President Trump:

“I’m making this presentation directly to the American people, with the media present, which is an honor to have you. This morning, because many of our nation’s reporters and folks will not tell you the truth, and will not treat the wonderful people of our country with the respect that they deserve.”

A-fucking-men!

Yes, dear friends…the election of Donald Trump was a referendum AGAINST THE CORPORATE MASS MEDIA.

[first and foremost]

And this same media is still living in denial.

Their allies are reprobates.

And they reach out their desperate tentacles for shadier and shadier sustenance.

And so, though it be hard to fathom, the mass media in the U.S. is actually GETTING WORSE.

That’s because it is dying.

Death throes.

Donald Trump is no idiot.

His assessment of The New York Times as being a terminally-failing (publically-traded) company is business analysis.

And it’s unequivocal.

But you know what?

The media hated Trump all along.

The old media.

And he didn’t, as it turned out, need to curry favor with them after all.

He spoke to the crowd.

He went around.

He outflanked the biggest, most puffed-up hegemony in the world.

So we’re giving Israel a chance.

We’re giving Trump a chance.

I’m not a Republican.

I’m just a schmuck who voted for Trump.

You can make the call as to whether I’m erudite enough to have such a privilege.

But Donald Trump has taught me to have pride in my country.

To have pride in the United States of America.

To be grateful for those who serve in the military.

To be grateful for those who serve as police officers.

That’s the positivity I get from Donald Trump.

It’s probably the Norman Vincent Peale in him.

But I also see a very strong leader.

A person who doesn’t take any shit from anyone.

Had Bernie Sanders such a spine, the protests would have gone for broke at the Democratic National Convention.

But too bad.

Sorry, people.

You had your chance to dethrone your greatest foe.

And she was in your own camp.

You know, I actually feel sorry for the Democratic Party…

No political party should have ever been represented by such a lousy candidate as Hillary Clinton.

But that was the “now-or-never” moment.

It passed.

And we who embraced the market system which rewards hard work…we won.

[and it doesn’t take a genius to understand why]

Complaining after the fact doesn’t cut it.

Get out and vote.

Campaign.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

If you lose, you lose.

But if you half-ass it, probability is not in your favor.

We Trump supporters took immense heat.

Shellacking.

We’re “racist”. “Bigots”.

Blah blah frickety blah.

But it doesn’t matter what you pathetic losers think.

Because, believe it or not, we actually want prosperity for you too.

Because maybe someday you’ll thank us that we still have a country left.

But I’ll just leave you with one zinger which sums up our entire Zeitgeist.

You wanna know Donald Trump’s take on the media…in one pithy jab?

“The press — the public doesn’t believe you people anymore.”

That’s it.

That carried the day.

The anti-Trump media (which is at least 80% of the American airwaves and newsstands) needs to go back to their Sun Tzu, their Machiavelli, their Clausewitz, and their Jomini.

For this one we have a very perceptive American director to thank: Katherine Bruens.

But all of it would be for naught if not for a shining example of humanity: corner store owner Yousef Elhaj.

The occupation of Palestine can elicit such feelings of anger and disgust (as well it should).

But every once in a while a real kind spirit comes along.

And such kind spirits shame the despicable Israeli settlers and their vulture military even more so than the most vitriolic polemic.

Yousef Elhaj is such a person.

Sweet. Hardworking. Kind. Quiet. Patient. Hardworking.

And (big surprise) a Christian.

Here we see a different perspective from 5 Broken Cameras.

I suppose we are used to assuming that all Palestinians are Muslims (and a vast majority are), but it is interesting to see things from a different perspective.

Elhaj’s life in Bethlehem (occupied West Bank) was just as crappy as that of any Muslim living there or in any other part of the criminally unrecognized Palestine.

Another important point… Being Christian does not make Elhaj any less Arab.

Most importantly… Peace in the Middle East is possible because of people like Yousef Elhaj.

He is really a jaw-dropping personage.

So much sacrifice for his family.

7:30 a.m.-midnight.

Seven days a week.

A little corner store on Church St. in San Francisco.

And to see life in Bethlehem.

To see the hell of walls and settlements which the Israelis have erected.

The settlements encroach. The settlements surround.

Bethlehem is completely encircled by concrete structures which are too artless for even Frank Gehry to barf on.

That’s what settlements mean.

Don’t let the euphemism fool you.

“Settlements” are concrete apartment blocks built on stolen land.

That would be bad enough were it not for the ubiquitous (and racist) walls which stockade Palestine.

And yet we don’t see anger from Mr. Elhaj.

He isn’t shown at a protest.

He just wants his family to be alright.

And his main emotion upon seeing the decline of his home town of Bethlehem is sadness.

The Israeli gun towers. Turrets to protect the settlers. And to hell with everyone else.

The sadness as a business man is remarkable.

What made him leave in the first place.

Things weren’t just bad. They were awful.

And so he has been away from his family for ten years.

He could have brought them to the U.S., but our immigration laws are not written to think of people as people.

Rather, our laws reduce people to statistics.

Quotas.

I can only figure that Mr. Elhaj (as bad as things were for him) actually had it better than Muslim Palestinians hoping to start a new life in America. [Which is to say, Muslims in general are not in an enviable position at this time regarding their leverage in situations of immigration review.]